Kits: WOW!

[Anonymous]

Well, I went to the LHS today and got some 22" radius curves and 2 athearn Blue Box kits. Wow! I never knew they were so easy to build! Otherwise I would've started buying them along time ago. Anyone else have any recommendations on other kit brands (it looks like Blue box is best for now)? I saw some from Stewart Hobbies, but they looked really difficult to build.



BTW I looked at the locomotives and they had a Lionel Veranda! Talk about early delivery![:D]

[Anonymous]

If you're talking Rolling stock Kit's I'd recommend some MDC/Roundhouse ones as well. easy to put together and run smooth too.

Jay

[Anonymous]

In addition to Athearn and Rounhouse, I highly reccomend Accurail. Their kits are high quality, easy to build, well detailed, and are well priced (list price is usually $11-12 ). They are also made in the USA!

Josh
Spokane, WA

[AggroJones]

QUOTE: Originally posted by camodude51

In addition to Athearn and Rounhouse, I highly reccomend Accurail. Their kits are high quality, easy to build, well detailed, and are well priced (list price is usually $11-12 .

[#ditto][#ditto][#ditto][#ditto][#ditto][#ditto]

[tomwatkins]

Accurail kits are indeed very good. They aren't difficult to assemble and I think are a bit more finely detailed than the Athearn blue box kits. Branchline's Yardmaster series is also very good.
Tom Watkins

[Fergmiester]

QUOTE: Originally posted by camodude51

In addition to Athearn and Rounhouse, I highly reccomend Accurail. Their kits are high quality, easy to build, well detailed, and are well priced (list price is usually $11-12 ). They are also made in the USA!

Josh
Spokane, WA

I've noticed both LHS's in my area are down in Athearn numbers and I find Accurail just as good if not better and now cheaper than blue box kits.

[Wdlgln005]

After Athern, MDC, and Accurail, check out some of the Lifelike 2k or Walthers kits.
Go for the boxcar- hopper- covered hopper kits first. Take time to paint the weight & weather the cars. It's easy to screw the KD's in place.
Take your time and enjoy building the kits!

[Anonymous]

Don't buy any high-end, fragile kits like the Red Caboose and Branchline Blueprint series until you master the simpler kits. If you buy A Proto 2K kit buy the timesaver ones, they are partially assembled. I tried to build high-end models first thing off, and I paid for it-I ruined a good Red Caboose reefer car. From MR reviews, the Stewart cars don't look too hard...but stick with Accurail, Athearn, Yardmaster, and MDC until you know how complicated they are.
Happy modeling!

Christopher

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by tomwatkins

Accurail kits are indeed very good. They aren't difficult to assemble and I think are a bit more finely detailed than the Athearn blue box kits. Branchline's Yardmaster series is also very good.
Tom Watkins

Tom, You hit this one right on the head! I also like the Branchline Yardmaster series. They are easy to build, the paint job is very good with clean & clear lettering etc., and the kits provide a few spare parts[:D], in case you happen to break them removing them from the sprues[:(!].I have pretty good luck nipping the parts from the sprues with my Xuron Rail Shears, they're not just for rails anymore[;)],but DON'T cut music wire or any hardened metals with them and they provide a clean and CLOSE cut, a plus for those fine details!!

[Anonymous]

Every suggestion offered on this string so far is right on-suggest you get several cars from each of the manufacturers mentioned (as a min, and as your budget permits) for variety-esp. box cars, since there was, and still is, a considerable variety of heights, door and end styles, sill details, and to some extent walkways, ladders, brake wheels and freight trucks Depending on what era you are modeling). A couple of other pointers for you as you build a fleet of freight cars-and you will! -- pick an era (like 1940-1950, 1960-1970, or whatever. . . Suggest you confine your collection to that era as it would look silly to have a 36' wood billboard reefer on arch bar trucks mixed in w/ Gunderson cars more than twice as long and 60 or more years newer. If you're not sure at first look at the tiny markings on the sides of the kits referenced earlier in this string, and look specifically for a marking that reads 'new month - year' , for instance a car built in August 1945 would be indicated by: NEW 8-45. Sometimes, but rarer on prepainted kits, you will see RBT or RBLT month-year, indicating it was rebuilt at that later date, such as war-time emergency cars built with braced wooden sides (hoppers, box cars, gondolas, and even cabooses). By avoiding any cars with reporting marks w/ dates newer than the era you have chosen to model, you will quickly build a more realistic roster and you'll avoid replacing inappropriate cars later on. Familiarize yourself with what freight trucks were in use at what time (as some of them like arch bar trucks were outlawed for safety considerations back in the '30's) MR had an excellent article re: this a few months back. Other tidbits to spur the wheels to turn are to consider why your railroad exists-where does it go, what does it haul, what railroads would connect or interchange with it and why, etc. This will help you in selecting cars that fit in on your railroad. Do your homework and you'll get lots more out of this wonderful hobby. And avoid that nasty tube of glue-use liquid cement and CA (super glue). Good modeling to ya'

[Anonymous]

hey - 4884bigboy Didn't notice 'til now that the person who opened this string was you , w/ 1045 posts to date, implying that you probably already knew everything I suggested and may have your own system or ideas about what I posted. Anyway, hope it is of help to others out there.

[Anonymous]

A couple of more tips I'll pass along. If the kits you buy don't already have operating knuckle couplers, I'd recommend that you convert them when you first build that kit and as a further suggestion, I'd select one brand and stay with that brand-I recommend Kadees as do most modelers who have been doing this for a while. Purchase an inexpensive coupler height gauge-I use a freight car that I know is at correct height instead. Also, the NMRA recommends certain weights for rolling stock and most kits, as offered, are usually a little light. Search this Forum for recent discussions on both Kadees and the weight issue. Lastly, NMRA offers a wheel spacing gauge - every truck should be checked before being put in service. Check wheels, esp plastic type for burrs, flat spots, out of roundness, etc.. All this adds up to smoother running, less derailments, eliminates unwanted uncoupling, etc.

[Anonymous]

Yes, the kits came with EZ-mates, so I bought some KD #5s and put those on there. But, the KDs seem to be really loose, did I do something wrong? The kits are an SP 40' boxcar and a UP 40' grain boxcar. I'll stick with 40' and 50' cars seeing as those were most common in the 40s and 50s.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by 4884bigboy

Yes, the kits came with EZ-mates, so I bought some KD #5s and put those on there. But, the KDs seem to be really loose, did I do something wrong?

Did you put the tension spring in with the coupler?

Jay

[Anonymous]

NTDN, yes, after I re-read the directions. Now they couple great!

[Anonymous]

Walthers also make some decent kits - not sure which are still available though. I've built 2 of their 5-unit spine cars and one of their Scale Test Cars - all were nicely moulded and easy to build. Just be careful when assembling the trailer hitches on the spine cars to make sure the trailers sit level.

[Anonymous]

Accurail cars are very nice in fact most of my grain hoppers are accurail

[Anonymous]

Bigboy, If you like the Athearn Blue box, better obtain as many as you can between now and Aug. cause I don't think they will be the same after that. I know that Athearn has been bought out by a company that might just not care about doing the right thing in keeping the prices the same. If you can get any blue boxes for the $4-6 price, snap them up, cause it will possibly cost more in the very near future

[Anonymous]

Athean is Cheap. That's why I like Athean

DOGGY

[Anonymous]

Doggy, Same here. Just hope the availability is still there in the near future.

[Anonymous]

Some of you may not be aware of the fact that some of Walthers' '30-'50s era freight car kits use the tooling originally done for Train Miniatures' excellent and comprehensive line of kits which were, in my opinion, superior to the Athearn 'blue box' kits and MDC/Roundhouse offerings in the late '60s and '70s. Don't know what happened to TM but it was unfortunate for the hobby when they went away. TM kits show up at swap meets from time to time and if priced reasonably, snatch up one and see for yourself.

[orsonroy]

In terms of simple plastic kits (non-Branchline, Red Caboose or Intermountain), Accurail has the best detailing, followed by Bowser, Branchline Yardmaster, Roundhouse, Walthers and finally Athearn. All these kits sell for about the same price ($9-$12 for a 40' boxcar). Depending on the timeframe you want to model, you can get virtually all the cars you need without having to resort to Athearn.

I personally don't like Athearn cars. Here's why: They don't look like real freight cars, their trucks suck, the blue box paint schemes are virtually all wrong, the coupler boxes are horible, the underframes are all wrong, the coupler height is incorrect, and the detailing on the cars that are "sorta" correct are clunky and crude. You can find virtually any car they make for the transition era from some other manufacturer for (generally) the same price with 3 times the accuracy.

The only cars I have from Athearn these days are some twin hoppers and a few passenger cars, that will be sold off as soon as Branchline, Walthers and Rivarossi start releasing more of their new heavyweight passenger car line. And although I really like their USRA light Mike and Pacific, they're being purged from my roster because of their poor performance on grades (even after extensive rebuilding).

Athearn cars were great when they were the only game in town. But they've rested on their laurels too long (most of the dies for the freight cars were made in the early 1960s!) and have overcompensated by releasing high end RTR cars at the expense of the most popular era in HO modeling (1945-1960). These cars they've ignored, so other manufacturers have stepped in to take over. If you like steam and first generation diesels, but are modeling on a budget and want to build up a decent sized, good looking (not necessarily rivet-counting, but better than no accuracy at all), and affordable freight car fleet, you've got LOTS of options.

[Leon Silverman]

From someone who has assembled P2K cover-hopper kits and currently in the process of assembling a Branchline Heavyweight Pullman, I would like the kit manufacturers to identify the manufacturer and color designation of the the paint they use in their decorated kits. This would simplify any touch-ups that are invariably necessary where flashing is removed or a little excess glue is used.

[BRAKIE]

For me give me Athearn,MDC,Accurail as far as kits..For RTR Give me the Athearn,Atlas,Walthers(tank cars) KD and InterMountain..As far as the other kits such as branch Line and like kits,please feel free to buy my share..I hate kits with a zillion and one iddy biddy pieces..I just don't have the patience for that happy stuff like I use to-not saying I ever did like kits with those zillion and one pieces...[xx(] Heck to tell the truth I would rather buy RTR then any kits lately.[:0]
Of course I model the 70 s and 1996..I can model the C&O in the 60s as well if the urge hits me...Thats one of the nicest things about having cars of all eras.A little smoke and mirrors on the layout,changing of cars and PESTO! Its 1963,1978 or 1996....[:D]

[cacole]

Bowser kits also make good models and are fairly easy to assembe. I did run into a minor problem with their 2-bay covered hopper kits, though, in that if you change the plastic wheels included in the kits with Kadee or other 33" metal wheels, they rub on the bottom. Bowser's wheels must be slightly smaller than a scale 33", but I don't know what it could be because there is no other manufacturer I know of that has a 30 or 31 inch wheel.

[tstage]

Jonathan,

I just got into the hobby recently and I have already put together 13 kits in the last couple of months: (8) hoppers, (1) 40' box car, (1) 50' box car, (1) stock car, (1) tanker, and (1) caboose. These 13 rolling stock kits have come from only 3 manufacturers: Accurail, Proto 2000, and Roundhouse.

Here's my take:

Accurail - VERY good detail, fairly good directions. (Could stand improvement.). Price: $9-11.

Roundhouse - Good detail, LOUSY directions. (They left me guessing where to place a few things on my NYC cupola caboose. Unfortunately, it was one of the only manufacturers to have this particular caboose in a kit.) Price: $13 and up

Proto2000 - TERRIFIC detail, VERY good and explicit directions. HIGHLY DETRAILED KITS! Because of the highly detailed parts, you can spend several hours putting together one of their kits. (I spent 8 hours just putting together a small tanker.) As suggested, Proto2000 makes a "time-saver" kit that is partially put together already. Price: (Build it yourself) - $10 and up. "Time-saver" - $15-17 and up. RTR: $28 and up. If you love SUPER detailed rolling stock; THIS IS THE STUFF!

I've haven't yet purchased any of the Bowser, Intermountain, or Stewart kits. They do look good from the box.

I've also put together about a half dozen Cornerstone kits from Walthers. Good detailing but not always inexpensive.

Anyhow, hope this helps.

Tom

[Anonymous]

Check the Stewart website-direct sales of 70 ton hoppers for $5 each, and limited 6-packs for $30. I just bought 16 Stewart hoppers from the Con-Cor site for $4 each. Discounttrainsonline has quite a few Athearn kits for $4 to $6 on their clearance page. Trainland/Trainworld sells Athearn kits at 10 for $49.99, their choice, but they have a sale right now at 10% off. They also show quite a few P2K kits below $10.

I like the Athearn and MDC kits because they are extremely affordable. I know others are more accurate and detailed, but my model railroad is based more on pleasure than historical accuracy. Fprtunately, I haven't paid more than $6 for any of my kits, and some were as low as $3. I would rather have 6 Athearn Blue Box cars than 1 Kadee or Intermountain. I would like to be able to spend $30-40 per car, but it would take me until retirement to have a decent sized roster. You have to decide what you want and what your budget is. If price is no object, you can have the most highly detailed and accurate pieces money can buy. Most of us have to accept some sort of compromise, though.

[tstage]

To comment on enduringexp's statement: The prices that I quoted were if you purchased them from your local hobby store. You can definitely find them less expensively if you get them in "bulk" (sets) or over the Internet.

Here's a germ (that I eluded to earler in my comments) to kick around:

Of the kits that you like or usually aquire for your layouts, which ones are the easiest to build or have the best directions?

Roundhouse has many older or vintage kits but their directions leave much to be desired. [xx(] (And a lot of guess work.)

Tom

[Anonymous]

Isn't it great to see someone take the time to experiance something new and find out it can be major fun! Modeling has been my hobby since I was 5-6 years old. I was a young boy when plastic kits came on the market. Prevous to this, kids built stick models or solid wood models which they hand carved. It wasn't "owning" the model, it was the creation of the model with your own hands, that caught my attention!

To those of you whom want to buy ready made, "have at 'er"! I'll put mine together, thank you!

[AggroJones]

I recently aquired a P2K SSW '50 AAR single door boxcar kit. One from the earlier runs. It looks like its going to be pretty sweet. I wish it didn't have soooooo many small part thought. Helluva lot more complex than an Athearn kit. I'll get around to assembling it later.